Got Accepted To My First Law School Today!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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Congratulations!

Law school will most likely be the most challenging thing you’ve ever done. Don’t worry about the grades, although that’s hard to ignore. Everyone there will be used to getting mostly A’s. It can be difficult when the majority of people start getting C’s.

You’ll most likely find that everyone seems to be picking up on things much faster than you. This is an illusion, so try to ignore the feeling. People will think the same way about you. :slight_smile:

I loved law school although it almost killed me - I’ll spare the gory details. I love the law. I love studying the law. Unfortunately for me, I realized after the first semester that I didn’t want to be a lawyer. By that time, I was already up to my ass in debt. I decided that a law degree and three mountains of debt was better than one semester of law and a single mountain of debt. It’s still too close to call whether or not I made the correct decision.

Damn good thing for me that I have a pretty good technical background and can (barely) afford my loan payments.

Most people I’ve talked to have said that the nightmares of the first year will taper off by middle age. I’m not holding my breath on that one, though.

Many people complain about attorney fees being too high. After your first year, you’ll have personal knowledge as to the reason why they are. :wink:

Good Luck! I wish you all the best…

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Gadarene, congratulations. Don’t listen to Dinsdale at all - I went to Yale, and it totally ROCKED. First semester-required courses-graded pass/fail. The rest of your law school career, grades=Honors, Pass, Low Pass, Fail. But it was nearly impossible to get anything less than a Pass. Generally good professors, New Haven is experiencing something of a renaissance, and best of all you get to play the Yale golf course for a $10 greens fee, and it’s one of the nicest courses I’ve ever played. Woo hoo!

FWIW, my brother went to GT Law and loved it. There are LOTS of opportunities for government-related work (obviously) - he interned for Tom Foley when he was Speaker, and did some work at one or two lobbying firms as well. Not a bad place if you can’t go to Yale. :wink:

The only place I heard being competitive as you described was Columbia, and that was probably 10-15 years ago. I don’t know what it’s like now.

He’s right - some people are just better at faking it, a skill that you’ll find coming in handy throughout your career. Although I know a lot more now than when I started practicing, I am also much more comfortable bullshitting about stuff I only think I know. Trust me - it works.

Good luck!

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I’m genuinely looking forward to that, Phil. At the very least, I’ll be visiting the law school for a look-see; I’ll definitely let you know when I’m gonna be in town. What kind of beer do y’all have out there, anyway? It’d have to be pretty good to take the edge off your half-assed libertarianism, that’s for sure! :wink:

Dinsdy:

Seven, actually, pass-boy. I wanted to go to a top school, I didn’t want to live in New York or Chicago, and I’d already been to Duke. Made my choices pretty easy. :slight_smile:

I want to go somewhere with a great con law program. Of the schools to which I applied, Harvard, Yale, Georgetown, and Virginia particularly qualify. At this point, I would lean towards going to Harvard, Yale, or Virginia over Georgetown, and to Georgetown over Michigan, Cornell, and Stanford. Either way, I hope to visit the campuses of each school I’m accepted to before I make a decision. I honestly don’t feel like I can go wrong with any of 'em.

Believe it or not, I’ve actually got a pretty good idea. I’ve read a couple of amazingly helpful books on the topic. I’m gonna work my ass off the first year, secure a paid position with a firm or judicial internship that summer, win a place on law review that spring, get a good summer associateship after 2L, publish a note or two, and do an appellate court clerkship after third year. Easy. :slight_smile:

Seriously, for the most part I know what to expect. A lot of reading, a lot of writing, a lot of self-discipline and organization.

Planning on it. I’ll see what interests me in the first-year curriculum when I get there. I’ve got a first cousin who heads up the largest mass tort and consumer fraud law firm in New York; if I do well enough in school, I’ve got a place there after graduation. In short, I’m keeping my options open.

Gotcha. :wink: Hey, you’re not such a bad guy–why, beneath the prickly exterior is a slightly less prickly interior! C’mere, you…

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Crack’dOff and Cantrip: Great posts! Thanks!

Cantrip, you realize that if I get into Yale, I’ll be asking you which professors are really good and which should be avoided at all costs. I’ve read in several different places that the best teacher can make the most boring subject fulfilling, and vice-versa. In fact, how long ago did your brother go to Georgetown? I’d love to hear his recommendations. :slight_smile:

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That’s “when”, not “if”, right Gadarene? :slight_smile: Whatever, feel free to ask. If you want to email me, my addy is adam.frank@srz.com.

Actually, I got interested in my field (trusts and estates) because of a professor that I had first semester of my third year (not that I would have thought the course boring in any event). I had already accepted a clerkship (at the district court level, which is a hell of a lot more fun than the appellate court, IMHO) and figured to be a litigator for a while, then BAM! - John Langbein went and changed my life. So I did the clerkship (always a valuable experience) and then went into T&E, although I do a bit of T&E-related litigation, too (will contests and the like). He was an incredible professor.

My brother graduated from GT in, let’s see, 1997 or 1998, I can’t recall which. If you don’t get into Yale, Harvard or VA, let me know; I’ll email him any questions you have and post his responses.

Oh, and FWIW, Stanford and Michigan are top schools that, if you want to work on the East Coast, make you geographically diverse for recruiting purposes. :wink:

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I responded to your email about G-town today, but the Mailer-Daemon ate my response. Drop me another line.

Sua

P.S. G-town was your FIRST acceptance?!! Gah, you’re a genius. I was ecstatic when I got my first acceptance - at New York Law School. :slight_smile:

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I’m not sure whether to congratulate you or not -
how about, I wish you the best in whichever course you choose…

Certain professors like to play this cute little game called “You are stupid.” In the game, the professor calls on you and asks you a series of questions. How well you do in this game has NO effect on your grades, which is wonderful because no matter how well prepared you are, your answers will not be the right ones - and you will be left feeling publicly humiliated, questioning your intelligence, and praying that no one in the room was paying attention.

“Pass” tells the prof to play with someone else.

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Cantrip: Yes, when I get accepted to Yale, and when I decide to attend, I’ll be mercilessly hounding you for any tips you might be able to provide. So expect it; you won’t be able to hide. (Aren’t you glad I said “when” and not “if”? grin)

I’d love to get your brother’s opinion on the atmosphere of GT, and the professors to take and to avoid. Thanks for the help; I’m sure I’ll be e-mailing you, too.

Sua: I e-mailed you again last night; did you get it? Try me either at gadarene@yahoo.com or cohen@sou.edu.

And I’m no genius; I just write a hell of a personal statement. (Thanks, Jodi!)